CD44 glycoprotein as a prognostic factor in laryngeal cancer

An association between cell adhesion molecules expression in neoplastic tissues and cancer progression has been the focus of many recent studies. In certain tumours down-regulation of CD44 expression has been linked to the poor prognosis. The aim of the study was to evaluate CD44 expression and to determine the correlation between CD44 expression and the clinicopathological features of laryngeal cancer. The group consisted of 80 patients with primary laryngeal cancer. Tissue samples were taken from removed tumour mass during surgical treatment, CD44 expression was assessed by immunohistochemical method. The down-regulation of CD44 expression significantly correlated with a shorter disease-free survival (p<0.05). Our results suggest that CD44 expression may be useful as a prognostic marker in laryngeal cancer.